Posted: Tue, Jan 27, 2015, 8:05 AM ET (1305 GMT)
The X PRIZE Foundation announced Monday that it has awarded $5.25 million in "milestone prizes" to five teams participating in the Google Lunar X PRIZE competition. The prizes reward teams that achieved goals in the development of their landing, mobility, and imaging systems. Three teams each won $1 million for landing systems: Astrobotic, Moon Express, and Team Indus. Astrobotic and Moon Express, along with Hakuto and Part-Time Scientists, also won smaller prizes for imaging and/or mobility milestones. Those five teams, along with 13 others, are racing to be the first to land a privately-developed lander on the surface of the Moon, move at least 500 meters across the surface, and return videos and other data. The prize expires at the end of 2016.

Related Links:

•  TechCrunch article
•  New York Times article
•  Engadget article
•  SPACE.com article
•  X PRIZE press release